Iran hangs man convicted of spying for Israel
Iran has executed a 'senior spy' on charges of cooperating with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, its judiciary says.
Mohsen Langarneshin, who was hanged on Wednesday morning, provided Mossad with extensive 'logistical, technical and operational support' for two years, starting in 2020, the judiciary said via its official news agency, Mizan.
One of the key accusations against Langarneshin was his involvement in the May 2022 killing of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) colonel, Sayyad Khodai, who was shot dead by two motorcyclists on his way home in Tehran. According to The New York Times, Israel informed the United States that it was responsible for the killing.
Mizan reported that Langarneshin bought a motorcycle to track Khodai's movements, relayed the information to Mossad and was present during the killing. Additionally, he was accused of supporting an attack on an industrial site in Isfahan, affiliated with Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics.
Iran cited 'extensive intelligence and technical evidence' linking Langarneshin to these operations, and said he 'fully confessed' to his involvement.
However, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the head of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) monitor, said Langarneshin was sentenced after an unfair trial and a confession was obtained by torture.
'The Iranian authorities' execution machine is accelerating every day, taking the lives of more people,' he told the AFP news agency, describing the executions as 'extrajudicial killings'.
The US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, which had campaigned over his case, said Langarneshin had been convicted after his July 2023 arrest at a Revolutionary Court presided over by judge Abolghasem Salavati, sanctioned by the US and EU and notorious for his handing out of death sentences.
'He denied all charges, stating that his confessions were extracted under torture,' the group said.
The Iran-born British actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi wrote on X: 'The bloodthirsty Islamic Republic has executed yet another innocent.'
Caught in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has executed numerous individuals over their alleged links to Mossad, particularly those accused of sabotage and assassination efforts aimed at undermining its nuclear programme.
In December 2023, three men and a woman were executed for their alleged links to Mossad.
Langarneshin's execution comes amid renewed US-Iran nuclear talks, which Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Israel of attempting to derail. A fourth round of Oman-mediated negotiations between Washington and Tehran is scheduled for Saturday in Rome, according to Tehran.
Araghchi described the last round of indirect talks, held on April 26 in Muscat, as 'extremely serious', but he remained 'extremely cautious' about their potential success.
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